Water: What You Might Not Know

Here are some little known facts about water:

  • Makes up roughly 60% of an adult’s body weight
  • Makes up roughly 70% of muscle tissue
  • Aids in the regulation of the body’s temperature 
  • Aids the kidneys in filtration
  • Causes muscles to contract efficiently
  • Plays an important role in joint lubrication

Your body’s thirst mechanism kicks in once you have lost roughly 2% of your body weight in water. Therefore, once you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated.

Here are some things to keep in mind about your water consumption:

  1. If there is inadequate water in your system, your kidneys turn to your liver to aid in filtration.
    When this happens, your liver isn’t able to work as efficiently to mobilize fats for energy use because it's spending energy to help the kidneys. This means, your body will not burn fat as efficiently.

  2. Caffeine is a diuretic. It draws the water out of your system that is supposed to exit through urine, leaving even less water in your body. So, if you drink caffeinated beverages, you need to compensate by drinking more water than is recommended.

  3. Drinking two liters of water each day is recommended.
    The best way to do this: Fill a one-liter water bottle first thing in the morning and finish it by lunch. Repeat the process in the afternoon, trying to finish the second liter before dinner. If you count calories, you should actually drink as many milliliters of water as calories you consume.

  4. When you first wake up in the morning, it is likely you are slightly dehydrated. This dehydration is because no water has been consumed while sleeping. So, start your day out right by drinking a glass of water when you get out of bed, especially if you are coffee drinker. Drinking coffee in the morning compounds the dehydration. Before drinking coffee, try drinking a few glasses of water.

  5. During the summer months and if you are active, water is even more important. When you sweat, you lose water. So you need to replenish that loss. As you exercise try drinking four to six ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes to replenish what is lost through sweat. Electrolyte drinks (e.g., Gatorade, PowerAid) aren’t necessary unless you exercise heavily for more than 45 minutes.

For more information, please contact

30 River Park Place West, Suite 340, Fresno, CA 93720
(559) 459-1630   Fax: (559) 459-1710

 

 This information is made possible in part by gift from Cambridge Homes